The Doctor's Runaway Bride Read online

  This story is partly set in an English hospital. To aid your enjoyment, here is a guide to some of the terms and expressions used:

  A&E (Accident & Emergency)—Emergency Room

  Community Midwife—a registered general nurse with specialist training in midwifery, or the delivery of infants.

  Health visitor—a nurse trained in preventative medicine and midwifery, who educates people caring for dependants, e.g babies or the elderly.

  House officer—a hospital-based trainee doctor; also known as an intern or resident.

  ITU—Intensive Therapy Unit; a hospital department where intensive care is given to those patients in a critical condition or after major operations.

  Locum—a doctor who temporarily stands in for another, due to absence or illness.

  NHS—National Health Service; the U.K. public health system, which offers medical and surgical care, and is funded by taxpayers.

  Obstetrician—a medical professional specializing in the care of women during pregnancy, labor and the period immediately after the birth.

  Consultant—a senior medical professional specializing in an area of medicine.

  Senior registrar—a specialist surgeon or doctor who is subordinate to a consultant, but senior to the house officers.

  SHO—senior house officer—after registration, a doctor who continues working in a hospital can be appointed to this full-time, training position.

  They’re guaranteed to raise your pulse!

  Meet the most eligible medical men of the world, in a new series of stories by popular authors that will make your heart race!

  Whether they’re saving lives or curing your desire, our doctors have got bedside manners that send temperatures soaring….

  Look for more heart-stopping titles in this ongoing new series.

  Available only from Harlequin Presents®.

  Sarah Morgan

  THE DOCTOR’S RUNAWAY BRIDE

  To Suzy

  For your encouragement, expertise and humor, and for being the best editor a girl could have.

  CONTENTS

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  EPILOGUE

  PROLOGUE

  ‘I CAN’T marry him.’

  Pale and shaking, Tia Franklin struggled with the zip of her sleek white wedding dress, sobbing with frustration when it stubbornly refused to budge.

  ‘Tia, wait—you’ll tear it—’ Sharon, her best friend and bridesmaid, tried frantically to calm her down but Tia wasn’t taking any notice.

  ‘I don’t care.’ As if to prove her point, Tia jerked at the zip again, her sobs increasing as it jammed and the material ripped. ‘What does it matter? I’m not getting married now, so I certainly don’t need a dress.’

  Sharon stood still, frozen with horror. ‘Tia, the wedding starts in half an hour and there are one hundred and forty guests waiting in the church—’

  ‘I don’t care about that, either.’ Tia finally managed to wriggle out of the dress and stumbled across the hotel room to her suitcase, which was already packed for her honeymoon.

  She released the catch and grabbed the first outfit that came to hand, tears falling steadily down her cheeks as she struggled into a pair of silk trousers and matching jacket.

  Sharon was still staring at her, open-mouthed with disbelief. ‘What’s happened? You were so happy—and no wonder. Luca Zattoni is every woman’s fantasy. Rich, cool-headed, Italian, body to die for…’

  Despite her tears, Tia lifted an eyebrow. ‘I thought you were a happily married woman?’

  ‘I am.’ Sharon looked unrepentant. ‘But there isn’t a woman alive who wouldn’t look twice at Luca. He’s sex on legs, Tia.’

  Sex on legs.

  Tia felt her heart beat faster. And that was the reason for the current mess. She hadn’t been able to resist the man.

  Sharon sighed. ‘Tia, the entire female population is green with envy. You’re the one that he’s marrying.’

  Tia lifted her chin. ‘Not any more.’

  Thoroughly alarmed, Sharon bustled across to her friend and took her by the shoulders. ‘OK, calm down. Take a deep breath. Copy me…’ She breathed slowly, trying to set an example. ‘Right. That’s better. Now, then, tell me slowly, has something happened or is this just bridal nerves? I was nervous before I married Richard, you know. It’s normal to be nervous. Especially for someone with your background.’

  ‘It’s not nerves.’ Tia pulled away from her friend and rammed her feet into the first pair of shoes that came to hand.

  Totally at a loss, Sharon backed away and turned towards the door. ‘I’ll fetch Luca.’

  Dear God, no! That was the last thing she wanted.

  ‘I don’t want to see Luca!’ Tia’s head jerked up and the desperation in her voice stopped Sharon in her tracks. ‘I can’t. I just want to get out of here as fast as possible.’

  ‘Tia…’ Sharon let go of the doorhandle and tried to reason with her, her voice soothing. ‘Just because things didn’t work out for your parents, it doesn’t mean—’

  ‘What?’ Tia slammed the suitcase shut and stared at her, tendrils of blonde hair escaping from what had once been an elegant chignon. ‘What doesn’t it mean? That it will all go wrong for me, too? My mother drank herself into the grave because she discovered that the man she loved—the man she trusted—had betrayed her. Kept secrets from her. Do you really think I intend to put myself in the same position?’

  Clamping her teeth onto her lower lip, Tia walked back across the room and swept her make-up off the dressing-table into her handbag.

  ‘I don’t understand.’ Sharon looked blank. ‘I know that your father had affairs, but—’ She broke off, her eyes widening as she registered what Tia had just said. ‘Are you saying that you think Luca is having an affair?’

  Tia felt the pain, hot and fluid, pour along her veins.

  ‘I don’t know,’ she said honestly. ‘I think so. Maybe. He’s certainly having a serious relationship with another woman.’

  ‘No.’ Sharon shook her head and gave an incredulous laugh. ‘No! I don’t believe it. I never saw a man more in love with a woman than Luca is with you. He’s crazy about you.’

  Tia closed her eyes and took steadying breaths.

  If only…

  ‘Trust me on this one, Sharon,’ she said finally. ‘Luca is not in love with me.’

  ‘So, if he doesn’t love you, why are there one hundred and forty people waiting for you to marry him, and why am I dressed like a green blancmange?’

  There was a long silence and when Tia finally spoke her voice was little more than a hoarse croak.

  ‘Because I’m pregnant.’

  The room was suddenly deadly quiet. ‘Tia?’

  ‘That’s the reason he’s marrying me.’ Tia gave a wobbly smile and blushed deeply. ‘And before you say it, yes, I’m a midwife and I should know the facts of life, but somehow I forgot them when I met Luca.’

  In fact, she’d forgotten pretty much everything the moment she’d set eyes on Luca.

  Fundamental things like how to walk away from a man before things became serious.

  The truth was that Luca Zattoni was the most overwhelmingly attractive male she’d ever met. Cool and confident and stunningly good-looking, the chemistry between them had stopped her brain from functioning from the moment they’d met.

  And that moment was etched in her memory for ever.

  She’d been backpacking aroun
d Europe and she’d arrived in Venice late at night. As she’d left the bus station, a group of young lads had started to bother her and she’d felt a rush of relief when a car had suddenly pulled up.

  Luca had stepped out of the driver’s seat, broad-shouldered and menacing as he’d strode towards the youths who had surrounded her, his glossy hair shining blue-black under the streetlamps. He was clearly a man who could handle himself in any situation and her tormenters had melted rapidly into the darkness, leaving the two of them alone.

  So she’d been left standing next to an empty bus station, awkwardly muttering her thanks to this handsome Italian stranger whose dark-eyed scrutiny had made her feel decidedly light headed.

  ‘It’s late to be wandering the streets of Venice,’ he observed, his gaze flickering over her backpack and resting on her sturdy walking boots. ‘Can I give you a lift somewhere?’

  He spoke in English and he had the sexiest voice she’d ever heard. Smooth, masculine tones tinged with enough of an Italian accent to make the blood heat in her veins.

  Tia’s heart was thumping so hard she thought it might burst through her ribcage. ‘H-how did you guess that I’m English?’

  ‘Not difficult.’ His eyes rested briefly on her silver blonde hair and he gave her a smile that made her breathing stop. ‘Hair the colour of yours is very unusual in Italy. As you will discover if you continue to walk the streets at this time of night.’

  She was still staring at him like an idiot. ‘I haven’t found anywhere to stay yet…’

  ‘Venice is generally a very safe city,’ he told her, ‘but a woman like you shouldn’t be walking around on her own this late.’

  A woman like her…

  Her eyes locked with his and something passed between them. A feeling so powerful that her knees weakened alarmingly.

  His eyes held hers captive, drawing her in. ‘I would be happy to show you around and help you find somewhere to stay…’

  She knew that getting into a car with a stranger was foolish in the extreme, but this man didn’t seem like a stranger and their relationship progressed so fast she barely had time to reason.

  And then Tia discovered that she was pregnant.

  She dragged herself back to the present, aware that Sharon was still staring at her, clearly taken aback by her announcement.

  ‘And you think that’s why he’s marrying you?’

  ‘I didn’t at first.’ Tia’s voice shook as she told Sharon what had happened. ‘I believed what I wanted to believe—that he loved me and that was why he was marrying me.’

  Sharon bit her lip. ‘So…’

  Tia took a deep breath. ‘But I’ve found out that he was just using me as therapy. It seems he was getting over another relationship.’ She shook her head slowly as she thought back over the past few weeks. ‘He only proposed because I told him I was pregnant.’

  Sharon looked horrified. ‘How—? What makes you think he’s involved with someone else?’

  ‘Because I just met her.’ Tia dropped the bag and stared into the mirror. Her reflection stared back, her skin pale and streaked with tears. ‘I nipped along the corridor to talk to Luca’s mother half an hour ago, when you were in the bathroom. She was deep in conversation with a very stunning woman. Someone I’d never seen before.’

  Sharon sank onto the nearest chair and stared at her with trepidation. ‘And?’

  Tia fiddled with the silk of her jacket. ‘His mother was saying what a sad day it was. That he should have been marrying Luisa—that’s her name, by the way.’ She sniffed slightly. ‘And that he was marrying totally the wrong woman for totally the wrong reasons and it would never last.’

  Sharon gave a soft gasp and lifted a hand to her throat. ‘And what did this Luisa woman say?’

  ‘That she and Luca had been so close for so long that things had just become confused. And that she’d seen him and spoken to him and he’d said he would always love her…’

  ‘No!’ Sharon groaned and shook her head. ‘I don’t believe it. Not Luca.’

  Tia gave her a watery smile. ‘Why not Luca? Let’s be honest for a moment. This has been one of the fastest romances on record. I met him ten weeks ago. We barely know him, Shaz.’ Tia’s voice cracked and Sharon squeezed her arm.

  ‘Luca’s not a teenager, Tia. He’s an adult male who knows exactly what he wants out of life. I can’t see him marrying someone unless he wanted to. Maybe he finished it—’

  ‘No.’ Tia rummaged in her bag for a tissue and blew her nose hard. ‘No way would any red-blooded male finish with a woman like this one. You didn’t see her. She was seriously gorgeous. And elegant. Nothing like me. When Luca met me I was backpacking, for goodness’ sake! I’m so far removed from his usual style of woman that it’s laughable. I’m a homeless, rootless waif who’s terrified of commitment. Believe me, there’s no contest.’

  Sharon frowned. ‘You forgot to add that you’re also warm, funny and irresistibly pretty. Tia, men have been falling over themselves to get to you for years and you don’t even see it. Trust me, Luca is crazy about you—’

  ‘Novelty value.’ Tia blew her nose again and tucked the tissue up her sleeve. ‘There’s obviously a shortage of blonde women in Italy. But I’ve come to my senses now, and I’m relieving him of his responsibilities. He can go back to the woman he loves. Come to think of it, he’s probably never been away from her. Maybe that’s why he was spending all that time at the hospital.’

  ‘He’s an obstetrician.’ Sharon reasoned. ‘You know they work hideous hours.’

  ‘Do I?’

  What evidence did she have that he’d been working? Only his word, and he seemed to be very selective about what he disclosed.

  And she could never marry a man who wasn’t completely honest with her.

  She stood up, slipped on her coat and picked up her bags.

  ‘Tia, wait!’ Sharon hastily followed her across the room and caught her arm. ‘At least talk to Luca about it before you leave. There might be a simple explanation.’

  Tia shook her head. ‘For telling another woman that he would always love her? I don’t think so.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘He doesn’t love me, Shaz. He was just doing the honourable thing by offering to marry me and I was really stupid to believe otherwise.’

  Luca had never once said he loved her. Not even when she’d told him about the baby and he’d proposed.

  Sometimes, just sometimes, from the way he’d behaved, she’d thought that maybe—

  But she’d just been kidding herself.

  ‘He doesn’t love me.’ Tia moved towards the door and Sharon grabbed her again.

  ‘He’s going to be furious, Tia.’

  Tia shook her head slowly. ‘I don’t think so.’ She gave a painful smile. ‘I think he’ll be relieved that I’ve let him off the hook.’

  Sharon looked at her anxiously. ‘So what are you going to do?’

  Tia checked that her passport was in her handbag. ‘Take the first available flight back to England. With any luck you’ll give me my old job back and I’ll find somewhere to live…’

  Sharon frowned. ‘Of course you can have your job back, and you can stay with Richard and me, but—’

  ‘No. I need to be on my own.’

  Sharon bit her lip. ‘But, Tia, Luca is a very traditional Italian male. Do you really think he’s going to let you leave, knowing you’re pregnant? He’ll follow you—’

  ‘No.’ Tia gave a sad smile and shook her head. ‘If we were already married, then maybe, but Luca is still a single man and he’s free to lead his own life.’

  Free to marry Luisa.

  ‘It’s over, Shaz, and I need to build a new life for myself.’

  Without Luca.

  CHAPTER ONE

  SHE wasn’t going to cry.

  Tia clamped her teeth firmly on her lower lip and wondered if the day would ever come when she no longer felt like sobbing the whole time.

  A soft sigh from the new
ly delivered mother by her side brought her to her senses and she stared down at the tiny bundle in her arms.

  The child was beautiful.

  Barely two hours old, dark lashes feathered her cheeks which were still slightly blotched from the rigours of birth. Lying passively in Tia’s arms, she gazed placidly up at the world, her blue eyes slightly unfocused.

  Tia felt her throat close.

  ‘Isn’t she perfect?’ The proud mother gave a wide, self-satisfied smile and waited to be handed her daughter. ‘I can’t believe how beautiful she is. I mean, I always thought babies were supposed to be ugly.’

  Ugly?

  Tia stared down at the sleeping cherub, marvelling at the way nature had managed to produce everything in miniature.

  No—the baby definitely wasn’t ugly.

  ‘She’s beautiful, Mrs Adams.’ Tia’s heart beat faster as the baby made little snuffly noises and turned her head searchingly. ‘And she’s hungry.’

  Work. Thank goodness for work. It was the only thing that distracted her from her own problems.

  She tightened the blanket around the baby and looked quizzically at Fiona Adams. ‘Are you ready to give it a try?’

  ‘I suppose so, although I have to admit that I’m really nervous,’ the young woman admitted as she settled herself more comfortably on the chair. ‘Everyone says I’m mad, wanting to breastfeed.’

  ‘You’re not mad at all,’ Tia said calmly. ‘Breast milk is designed for babies and you’re giving her the very best start in life.’

  Fiona looked worried. ‘I bet I won’t have enough milk.’

  ‘Well, your milk often doesn’t come in for a few days after delivery,’ Tia told her, ‘but what you do produce is something called colostrum.’

  ‘And that’s good for her?’

  Tia nodded. ‘Very good for her. Packed full of protein and antibodies. Very high in calories, too. Are you comfortable like that?’